Strength & Conditioning: Richard Airey - Week 2, Day 5

EDITOR'S NOTE: These workouts are designed by endurance athlete, CrossFit coach, and RunningWOD founder Richard Airey. Get a faster mile while also improving your technique and building strength with this exclusive four week program. Read more about Richard and his training philosophy here.

When it comes to running, everyone is familiar with the elusiveness of the four-minute mile. It’s the gold standard of elite distance running. For many of us it is hard to fathom the pace needed to sustain and achieve such a feat, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to replicate the training needed to improve your own mile personal best. The following four-week program is designed specifically to help you improve your one mile PR. The workouts will be posted Monday through Friday, but feel free to jump in any time.

The program begins with a one-mile and 400m benchmark time trial. These are all-out efforts to find your starting point. Once you have your initial mile time, you will be able to determine the various paces required for each individual running session. This website will help you determine your (R)ace Pace, (M)arathon Pace, (T)hreshold Pace and your EZ pace. These paces are important and will help you improve your performance drastically.